SSU MBB drops 72-64 decision to No. 22 Point Park
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Point Park (23-2, 12-2) | 36 | 36 | 72 |
|
Shawnee State (17-7, 11-3) | 35 | 29 | 64 |
The men's basketball program at Shawnee State showcased its competitiveness that has been evident through the 2023-24 season as the Bears and River States Conference East Division Co-Leader, No. 22 Point Park, squared off in a battle between two heavyweights.
However, in a battle between two programs chalk-full of talent, the Pioneers were simply able to make the shots needed down the stretch as Shawnee State (17-7, 11-3 River States Conference) fell to Point Park (23-2, 12-2 River States), 72-64, in a conference contest that was held at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
Game summary
Both teams essentially battled to a grudge match throughout the 40-minute affair, with neither team leading by more than five points throughout the entirety of the first half. Shawnee State worked its way back from 28-23 and 34-29 deficits to have an opportunity to take the lead at the halftime buzzer, but Point Park held a 36-35 halftime advantage behind Jo Valrie's 17 markers.
Shawnee State went on a quick 5-0 run over a 42-second span in the second half to take a 42-40 advantage with 15:41 to go in the game, and despite several pushes by the Pioneers, kept control through the 9:10 mark in the second half of competition, where the Bears led by a 51-48 mark. Point Park, however, answered with an 11-2 run to take a 59-53 advantage with 5:51 to play in the contest.
The Bears cut the Point Park lead to a 59-58 count with 4:32 lead in the contest behind five consecutive points via a Keith Germain poster dunk on 7-2 Point Park center Jags Jhawar and a three-point field goal by Tyreke Johnson, but Point Park went on a 9-3 run to seal matters, the dagger being a desperation heave by Nathaniel Van at the end of the shot clock that banked off of the glass and went through the net at a contorted angle with less than a minute to play in the game.
Germain, Johnson show skill sets
Honored prior to Saturday's tipoff for their efforts in eclipsing 1,000 points for their respective college basketball careers, Shawnee State junior guard Tyreke Johnson and Shawnee State senior forward Keith Germain each played strong basketball against the nationally-ranked Pioneers.
Despite going up against a frontline full of length in the 7-2 Jarwar as well as 6-10 Nazareth Fisher, Germain posted a strong first half by notching 12 of his 18 tallies in the first 20 minutes, going 5-of-11 from the field. Johnson added in 16 points -- eight in each half -- while grabbing eight rebounds and posting three assists for the contest to boot.
Johnson now has 1,327 points for his career between Lakeland Community College and Shawnee State while Keith has 1,073 points between Lakeland Community College, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and Shawnee State. Fittingly, they eclipsed 1,000 points in two of Shawnee State's biggest wins of the year -- Tyreke against Georgetown (83-78 win Nov. 14), Keith against West Virginia Tech (80-76 win Jan. 30).
Beard posts another strong outing against Pioneers
Having notched one of his best games of the year back on Dec. 2 in the first meeting between SSU and PPU on Dec. 2, Tre Beard, who scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting and didn't have a turnover in the contest, posted a similarly efficient performance, going 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the three-point line against the Pioneers.
Beard played all 40 minutes for the first time in his career en route to the 16-point performance. The Chillicothe product also didn't record a turnover for the ninth time in a game this season, and has 39 assists to just 26 turnovers for the year as a whole.
Additional
Shawnee State will have a week off before its next contest as the Bears will take on Ohio Christian Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Waller Gymnasium.
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